One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity - Albert Schweitzer

Last week a blog came to us from guest writer, Isabel Kumwembe (Malawi), standing in solidarity with Lorraine Matenda, who is battling for her life against severe dilated cardiomyopathy. Throughout the week we have continued to receive pictures in support of Lorraine, for the continuation of “One Heart for Lorraine”. What started out as a blog has quickly turned into a full-blown campaign.

We were so moved by Lorraine Matenda’s story, as well as the love that came pouring out throughout the campaign to support her and her family. In total, we received over 450 pictures from Russia, India, Malawi and the USA. If you haven’t had the chance to check out the photo album, please stop by ACI’s FB Page, or you can reach it directly at “A Heart for Lorraine Photo Album”.

Arts Connect International continues to send our healing love to Lorraine and the Matenda Family. The family deeply hopes that through this campaign, and Lorraine’s struggle, she and they can continue to raise awareness for cadiomyopathy. When it comes to the struggle for health equity- we are all in this together.

Keep fighting Lorraine, we are with you.

Call to action: Do you have important information around heart disease (and/or cardiomyopathy) that you want to share with a wider audience? Do you or a loved one live and/or struggle with heart disease related issues? Do you work in research, advocacy, prevention, treatment or care? We want to hear from YOU! Write to us today: 7dresses@artsconnectinternational.org to become a featured blog writer.

About today's look: All of the dresses for 7 Dresses 4 Health were designed and sown by Kim's Fashion Design. Love the look? Visit Kim at 100 Huntington Ave, Boston MA 02116, call her at (617) 267-9299 or email her: info@kimsfashion.com. Mention 7 Dresses 4 Health for a special discount!

Campaign Update (2017): All 7 Dresses 4 Health blogs were migrated from a former site, so the sharing analytics are inconsistent from when they were first published. We apologize to our guest bloggers, and readers, for this inconvenience. That said, the campaign garnered an average of 5K hits per blog, over 500,000 readers throughout 2015! Additionally, the average number of shares per guest blog was over 150x on social media (through Facebook and Twitter). Thank you for making this incredible campaign possible - and for all that it was for so many. With gratitude, Marian & the ACI Team